One of the main environmental institutions in Romania has found a company controlled by influential politician Dan Voiculescu planted GM soy on fields close to a biodiversity area in Southern Romania, in breach with existing national legislation, it was announced today.

Voiculescu’s Grivco company received a 35,000 RON fine and was urged to destroy the crop before the end of May.

Businessman Dan Voiculescu is the leader of the Conservative Party, a junior member of the governing coalition in Bucharest.

His company was accused by Greenpeace Romania of owning genetically modified soy fields some 15 kilometers from the biodiversity park of Comana, south of Bucharest, which is forbidden by Romanian law. The accusation prompted the Environmental Guard checks, which led to a warning to destroy the GM crop.

The Environment Ministry announced, for its part, that Environmental Guard checks will continue throughout the country in the coming period.